Apparatus for the manufacture of anchor nuts



Se t. '1, 1942. D. c. HUNGERFORD 2,294,453

APPARATUS FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF ANCHOR NUTS Original Filed May 26, 1958 s Sheets-Sheet 1 4 Jaw/( 9 'T R F A? wk M AETTORNEY.

Sept. 1, 1942. D. c. HUNGERFORD 2,294,458

APPARATUS FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF ANCHOR NUTS Original Filed May 26, 1938 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 LEZNTOR: BY WJI M ATTORNEY Sept. 1, 1942. p. c. HUNGERFORD 2,294,453

APPARATUS FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF ANCHOR NUTS Origin]. Filed May 26, 1938 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTOR ATTQRNEY HJQ m% 6? b R Patented Sept. 1 1942 I APPARATUS FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF ANCHOR NUTS Daniel, CfHungerford, Madison, N. J., assignor to Elastic Stop Nut Corporation, Elizabeth, N. J., a corporation of New Jersey Original application May 26, 1938, Serial N0.

210,145. Divided and this application Decemher 4, 1941, Serial No. 421,559

4 Claims. (CI. 10-76) The present invention relates to anchor nuts and has particular reference to apparatus for rigidly or with limited lateral movement with respect to a part to be fastened by a bolt and nut connection of which the nut forms a part. When such nuts are of the self-locking type, they provide, when anchored, a particularly advantageous and effective unit lock for bolts or screw fastenings of the-so-called blind type in which the nut is inaccessible after assembly.

One of the most widely used forms of anchor nut is'that in which the flange portion of the nut consists of two lugs or tabs projecting from opposite'sides of the base portion of a central tabs or flanges are relatively brittle.

body portion, these-lugs being provided with apertures for rivets or equivalent fasteningelements for securing the nuts to a plate or other structure. These nuts further have widespread application in aircraft, where weight is a factor of material importance and on this account the nuts are made with tabs'or projections which are comparatively of very thin cross-section. Also, on account of weight considerations, many nuts of this kind are made from light weight material of the nature of aluminum or magnesium or al loys thereof, the strength .of which is relatively low. 4

Heretofore it has been the practice to make nuts of the kind under consideration from bar stock, the diameter of which is at least as great as thelargest diameter across the flange portion of the finished nut, this bar stock being turned in automatic screw machines and the like to v form the main body portion of relatively small diameter and a circular base portion of relatively very much larger diameter which is subsequently trimmed by a punch or like operation to give the desired finished outline for the flange portion. This procedure obviously involves a. very large percentage of waste since the main body portion of the nut which is of small. diameter has a height usually several times that of the thickness portion of the original bar stock is turned from its original diameter to a diameter which may be as little as one-third, of the original'diameter or even less, in order to obtain the relatively thin flange portion of large diameter from which the desired projections 01'' tabs may be formed.

Furthermore, anchor nuts made in accordance with previously known methods have. agrain structure'which is substantially the same. as to orientation and character throughout the entire body of the nut. Usually this orientation, due to the rolling of the bar stock from which the nut is made, is longitudinal of the-bore of thenut,

which means that it 'is, transverseof the thin. section of the flange portion of the nut body.

The result of this is that the thin projecting instances nuts of the character under consideration must be fastened to curved or other mm planar surfaces which require that the anchor lug or lugs be bent to conform to the contour of the surface to which the nut is secured.- In

cases of this kind trouble is frequently encountered with nuts as heretofore manufactured because of breakage from the main body of the nut of the anchoring lugs, due to their brittleness.

The general object of the present invention is to provide an improved means for the manufacture of anchor nuts which will t .lable the cost of manufacture of the nuts to be very materially reduced and which will result in the production of nuts having superior qualities of strength and ductility.

of the flange portion. Consequently, a majort5 The mannerin which the above general object and other and more detailed objects of the invention maybe attained will best be understood from a consideration of the ensuing portion of this specification and the accompanying drawings forming a part hereof in which:

Fig. 1 is a central vertical section through a nut blank representing an intermediate stage in the manufacture of an anchor nut embodying the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the blank shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a section similar to Fig. 1 showing a completed self-locking anchor nut of preferred form, embodying the invention;

Fig. 4 is a photographic reproduction on great 'ly enlarged scale of a half section of a nut blank of the kind shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 5 is a micrograph of approximately the area indicated by A on Fig. 1

Fig. 6is a micrograph of a similar area of an In many 7 Fig. 9 is a view taken on line 9-9 of Fig. '7;

Fig. 10 is a perspective view of a trimmednut blank;

Fig. 11 is a perspective view of the flash trimmed from the blank shown in Fig. 10; and

.Figs. 12 to. 16, inclusive, are views showing the dies and punches of the machine of Fig. 7 in different operative positions.

In accordance with the present invention, the

nut blanks from which the finished nuts of desired shape are formed are made from bar stock the diameter of which is of the order of the diameter of the main body portion of the nut to be formed and the flange portion of the nut blank is made by cold forging to produce initially a flange of generally circular outline and of relatively much larger diameter than that of the bar stock and of relatively very thin cross-section. This cold forging is effected by upsetting one end of a blank of suitable bar stock to produce a. nut blank of the general form shown in Figs. 1 and 2.

After the nut blank, designated generally at I0, is brought to the form shown in Fig. 1 by the upsetting operation, the flange portion I4 is trimmed to desired shape as for example by shearing or otherwise cutting along the dotted lines IE to provide two opposed tabs or lugs perforated as at l8 to provide for fastening the anchor nut to any desired part. Obviously, the flange maybe trimmed and, if desired, in addition bent to provide any required form of projection for anchoring or otherwise securing the nut to any other member. As previously pointed out, anchor nuts of the kind under consideration are of greatest practical advantage when such nuts are of the selflockingype and a preferred form of anchor nut made accordance with the present invention is illustrated in Fig. 3, the body portion l2 of the nut being provided with a threaded bore 20 the upper end of which is recessed as at 22 to provide for the reception or an annular lockin washer or insert 24 of non-metallic elastic material such as that commercially known as vulcanized fibre. The insert 24 is locked against rotation in the nut body by beading over the upper rim 26 of the-nut body, or by any other suitable expedient for retaining the washer firmly in place in the nut body.

, For nuts or the character under consideration it is desirable that the bottom of the bore be counter-sunk as indicated at 28. Heretofore,

such counter-sinking has been efiected by a blank simultaneously with and as a part of the flange forming operation.

Referring now more particularly to Figs. 7 to 9, the form of apparatus illustrated consists of a cold forging machine having a main frame 50 in which is mounteda reciprocating headv indicated generally at 52. Head 52 is connected by means of a. connecting rod 54 to the crank pin 56 of anvils cooperating with punch tools carried by the reciprocating head in the machine.

The head 52 is provided with transversely extending rails 62 upon which is slidably mounted for transverse reciprocation a tool holder 64 which is moved back and forth between two transverse terminal positions through the medium of an actuating rod 66 having a head slidably engaged between suitable driving mechanism (not shown) for effecting the transverse reciprocation of the tool holder in desired timed relation to the longitudinal reciprocation of the head 52. Many different mechanisms for effecting such relatively timed reciprocations are well known in the art and detailed description of such mechanism is not believed necessary to an understanding of the present invention. Usually such mechanisms embody cams shaped to give the desired motion and in the machine illustrated, in which the rod 66 may be actuated by such cam action, movement of the head in one direction may be effected by means of a spring 68. I

The forging and trimming of the nut blanks is accomplished in two successive steps at two different stations in the machine. At the flrst station an upsetting die 10 is provided having a cavity 12 formed in the end of the die, which cavity is shaped to provide the contour desired for the main body portion of the nut to be shoulder 80 forming a stop against which collar 82 on the ejector pin abuts in the retracted position of the ejector pin. The ejector pin is reciprocated by means of a .cam 84 rotatably mounted on a shaft 86 carried by brackets 8| mounted on the frame of the machine. Cam

84 is actuated in timed relation to the recipro cation of the tool holder 64 by any suitable mechanism. In the example shown, 'a sprocket wheel 90 is indicated. Y

eration is effected, a die 92 is carried in the frame shaft 58 which is driven from any suitable'source of the machine, this die having a resiliently loaded ejector pin 94 provided with a collar. 96 seating against a shoulder in the bore of the die to limit the movement of the pin toward the face of the die. Movement ofthe pin 94 away from the face of the die is resisted by spring 98 which, 'as will be noted from Fig. 7, will permit only very limited retractive movement of the) pin 94 before a positive stop to such movement is effected because of contact of the convolutions of the spring with each other. Other means for resiliently holding the pin 94 in its projected position may be employed, such for instance as very dense rubber or other compressible substance. The essential feature of the resilient backing of pin 94, as will hereinafter more fully appear, is that it will exert a force of high value on the pin.

The tool holder 64 carries two punches adapted to cooperate with dies Ill and 92. Punch Illl constitutes a forging punch arranged to coopcrate with die III to upset a blank on a working stroke of head 52 when the tool holder is in the position shown in 7. This punch has a flat working face I02 in the center of which there At the second station, where the trimming opis preferably provided, for-the purpose of forming the recess 30 described in connection with Fig. 1, a, central projection 'I04.

Punch I06 constitutes atrimming punch I adapted to cooperate with die 92 on the working stroke of head 52 to trim a blank, and further adapted to act as a transfer member for picking up ablank from die I and transferring it to the second station for the trimming operation.

Punch I 06 is hollow and the face I08 of the punch has a cutting edge IIO (Fig. 9) shaped to trim,

. a ratchet wheel I44 adapted to be actuated by a in cooperation with die 82, a flange portion of devided with an internal passage or bore II2 with which the bore through the punch I06 communicates and which is adapted to discharge through the downwardly extending outlet II4, the nut bodies trimmed at this station of the machine.

The face of punch I06 is provided with two diametrically opposed projections II6 which serve as pickup fln'gers for picking up a blank formed at the first station and transferring the blank to the trimming station.

Referring again to die 92, the face of this die, for trimming a nut of the shape under consideration, is provided with two shearing projections II8 the shape of which, as will be observed from Fig. 8, is the "same as that of the laterally extending lugs or tabs I6 (Fig. 10-) which are to be formed on the nut body. These projections lie at opposite sides of th bore in which the pin 94 is situated, the cross-sectional contour of this pin beingsubstantially the same as the cross-sectional contour of the main body portion of the nut. As will be observed from Fig. 8, the end face I20 of pin 94 substantially entirely fills the space between the confronting faces of the two spaced projections II8.

Associated with die 02 is a stripping mechanism for stripping the trimmed-01f portion of the nut blank from the die 02 after the trimming operation has been effected. In the embodiment illustrated, this stripping mechanism comprises a forked stripping member I22, the spaced flngers I24 of which embrace the projections II8 on the die. Member I22 is pivoted at I26and is resiliently held against the face of the die by means of a spring I28.- Member I22 is in the form of a-lever pivoted intermediate its ends and the arm opposite the fingers I24 is provided with pawl mechanism, not shown. Opposite the bore of die I36, the frame of the machine provides a stop I46 against which .the bar stock is fed to provide a projecting length of stock of predetermined length, between the face of the stop I46 and the face of die I36. I

The projecting length of bar stock is sheared by means of a shearing and transfer arm'l48 pivotally mounted at I50 and actuated in suitably timed relation to the remaining mechanism by cam or other like mechanism, not shown; In the embodiment illustrated, this arm has a head I52 provided with a laterally opening recess I54 adapted to embrace the slug which is cut from the bar stock by the shearing edge I56 of the arm as it passes the face of die I36. Spring fingers I58 are fixed to the head of the arm, the

ends of these fingers projecting Past the edges of the recess I54'to retain the slug in the recess during the transfer motion., The cam, or other mechanism for swinging arm I48 is arranged to swing the arm after the shearing operation to place the slug I60 in the position shown in dotted lines in Fig.0, in which the slug is held by x the arm in alignment with the recess I2 in die I0.

a contact face I30 adapted to be struck by the end face I82 of a stripping arm I34 carried by the tool holder 64.

In addition to the punches and dies for forging and trimming the nut blanks from the bar stock, the machine is also provided with mechanism for cutting the bar stock into individual pieces of desired length, which pieces may for convenience be referred to as slugs, and for transferring the slugs to proper position with respect to die I0 for the forging operation.

This mechanism comprises an annular shearing die I36 fixed in the frame of the machine with the bore through the die in alignment with a bore I38 extending to the exterior of the frame 'of the. machine. The bar stock I40 is fed through bore I88 and the bore of die I36 by means of any suitable step feeding mechanism of known character. In the embodiment illustrated, this :mechanism is indicated by friction feed roller I42 The sequence of operations is as follows, it

bar stock and transferred to the position shown in dotted lines in Fig. 7. With the tool holder in the position shown in Fig. 7, a working stroke of the head 52 is effected and theslug I60 is upset between punch I00 and die I0 to form a blank of the kind indicated in Fig. 1 and consisting of the solid body portion I2 and the generally circular flange portion I4. In the center of this flange portion the recess 30 is formed by the projection I04 on the face of punch I00. The manner in which the lines of orientation of the grain structure are forged to the ultimate positions indicated by Fig. 4 will be apparent from a consideration of Figs. 12 and 13 showing the progressive positions of the punch I00 on its working stroke.

' The swinging movement of the shearing and transfer arm I48 is timed in relation to the working stroke of the tool holder 6.4 so that as the punch I00 moves forward on its working stroke and after the slug is heldabetween the punch its shearing position, the spring fingers I58 flexingto release the slug which is now rigidly gripped between the punch and die.

During the working stroke of the punch I00 and on the return stroke thereof after the upsetting operation, the ejector pin I6 remains in the position shown in Figs. 12 to 14, and the forged slug remains in die I0. During or after the completion of the return stroke of the head 52 the tool holder 64 is moved transversely so that the die I08 is brought into alignment with die I0 as shown in Figs. 14 and 15. The head 52 then makes a working stroke'with the tool holder in this position and this working stroke constitutes an idle stroke for the punch I00 as may be seen from Fig. 15. At the end of this working stroke the projections IIS on I punch I06 are forced into the. metal of the flange portion of the blank as indicated in Fig. 14. On the return from this working-stroke, the ejector pin I6 is actuated by cam 84 so as to insure the her rotatably mountedon shaft 86 and carrying loosening of the blank from the die and the .re-

tention of the blank on the face of punch I06 I)! the projections II6 embedded in the metal of the blank.

Before the next working stroke of the punch, the tool holder is returned by its actuating mechanism to the position shown in Figs. 7 and 16, with punch I again in alignment with die I0 and with the punch I06, now carrying an upset blank, in alignment with die 92.

Also, during this portion of the cycle of operation, the shearing and transfer arm I40, and the feeding mechanism for feeding the bar stock, are actuated so that a new slug is 'cut from the bar stock and transferred by the arm I48 to a position in alignment with the recess 12 of die I0. On the next succeeding working stroke, punch I00 operates to forge the new slug in the manner previously described, and simultaneously the die 92 and punch I06 cooperate to trim the flange portion of the upset blank which has been carried to the trimming station by the punch. These tion of the blank so that the base of the trimmed blank is not distorted by the shearing operation.

- 0n the return from the working stroke effecting the shearing, the resiliently supported ejector pin moves out to insure release of the trimmed blank from between the die projections IIO, the blank being carried back on ther'eturn stroke in the recessed punch and subsequently forced out of the machine through the passage II! by subsequently sheared blanks.

On the next forward or working stroke in which the punch I06 is transferred to the position shown in Fig. 15 for picking up the next blank, which stroke is an idle stroke for punch I00, the stripping arm I34, on the tool holder .comes into abutting contact with the stripping lever I21 to strip from the face of the die 02 the flash I68 which was sheared on the preceding working stroke of the machine.

I claim:

1. Apparatus of the character described including means for cutting a slug of predetermined length from bar stock, means for carrying the slug to a first station, means for upsetting projections IIO on the face of die 92 force the trimmed blank into the bore of the hollow punch I06, the trimmed-01f part or flash of the flange portion of the blank, the appearance of which is indicated in Fig. 11, remaining on the projecting part of the die as indicated at I60 in Fig. 16.

It will be evident-that as the punch I06, carrying the blank I60 on its face, approaches die 92 on its working stroke, the projecting body portion I2 of blank I60 will come into contact with the face of the resiliently backed pin 94 and pass between the projections II8 on the die. In order to satisfactorily accomplish the shearing operation without'undesirable distortion of the flange portion ofthe blank, it is important that the pin 94 be strongly backed to provide a substantially solid abutment'for the head of the blank to bear against when the pin is in retracted position. The reason-for this will be apprecia-ted from a consideration of the punch and die structure as revealed in Figs. 8 and 9.

From these figures it will be evident that the two projections II8 on die 92 and the cutting edge 0 of the opening in punch I06 provide projections I18 on the die,the flange portion of the blank is not supportedby the .die, the unsupported portion of the perimeter to be sheared being indicated at X in Figs. .9 and 10. Since at this portion of the perimeter the flange of the blank is trimmed immediately adjacent to the main body portion of the nut, this latter portion may in effect-be utilized as a support to prevent distortion of the blank which might otherwise result from an attempt to shear the portions indicated at X by the .corresponding portion of the cutting edge IIO without die support on the opposite side of the blank. With the head of the blank substantially rigidly backed by the compression of the resilient backing of the ejecting pin 94, .suiflciently solid support is provided by thehead of the blank along the lines X to insure clean shearing of the flange along these 1ines without distortion of the flange porone end of the slug at said station to form a blank having a laterally extending flange, means for carrying the blank to a second station comprising a part to be'embedded in a portion of said flange subsequently to be removed, and

means at said second stationfor trimming from the blank the portion of the flange in which said part is embedded.

cluding an upsetting station comprising an upsetting die and punch constructed to upset a flange on the end of a work piece in the die, a trimming station comprising a trimming die and punch, and means for shifting the trimming punch to the upsetting station on alternate working strokes, said trimming punch having projections for embeddingly engaging the flange of a blank formed at the upsetting station on a previous working stroke, whereby to carry the blank to the trimming .die, on its next working stroke, and said trimming die and punch being shaped to trim from the blank the embedded portion of the flange.

3. Apparatus for forming anchor nut blanks, including a first station and a second station,

said first station comprising a recessed die and a cooperating punch for upsetting the projecting end of a work piece a portion of which is located in the die recess, said second station comprising a trimming die and cooperating punch for trimming the upset portion of the work piece formed at said first station, a reciprocabletool holder carrying said punches, means for moving said tool holder laterally of its axis of reciprocation so that on alternate working strokes of the tool holder the punches are. in alignment with their respective dies and on intervening working strokes the second mentioned punch is in alignment with the flrst mentioned die, and means on said second mentioned punch separate from the trimming portion there- 'of for picking up the work piece at said first is depressed a predetermined distance away from the face of the die, a shearing projection extending from the face of the die adjacent to said bore, the side edges of said projection being tangent to the bore, and a hollow shearing punch having a shearing edge cooperating with said projection to form from said flange portion a lifterally projecting anchoring lug tangent at its 6 sides with said main ody Portion.

DANIEL c. HIUNGERFORD. 

